3D Systems Rockets as Revenue Jumps 31% (Update 1)

Updated from 8:20 a.m. EST to provide analyst comments in the third paragraph and comments from conference call in the fifth paragraph.

NEW YORK ( TheStreet) -- 3D Systems ( DDD) shares were modestly higher in premarket trading Tuesday, up 4.47% to $37.37 after the company posted first-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, and reaffirmed guidance.

Based out of Rock Hill, S.C., 3D Systems generated a 31% increase in revenue year over year, with sales coming in at $102.1 million, with 22.1% overall organic growth. On a non-GAAP basis, the company earned 21 cents a share. Gross profit margin came in at 52.4%, up 250 basis points, as 3D printer and other products revenue saw an 81% increase in unit sales.

Piper Jaffray analyst Troy Jensen noted the 22.1% organic growth signifies "another solid data point that this is a secular growth market and we anticipate the industry can sustain 20%+ growth over the next several years."

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for earnings of 21 cents a share on revenue of $101.6 million.

"We are very pleased to report outstanding quarterly results on higher printers' sales," said Avi Reichental, 3D Systems' president and CEO in the press release. "We believe that the vibrancy of our diversified portfolio, productivity of our channels and effectiveness of our strategic growth initiatives will continue to fuel our progress and results."

On the earnings call, the company said it stood by previous guidance. In February, 3D Systems said it expected fiscal 2013 earnings to be between $1.00 and $1.15 per share, when factoring in the three-for-two stock split. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are looking $1.05 per share in earnings and $461.4 million in revenue.

3D Systems ended the quarter with $110.5 million in cash, aided by $10.7 million of cash from operations.

Shares of 3D Systems have performed well over the past six months, gaining 25.73%, as interest in the 3D printing space continues to be exceptionally strong. Competitors such as Stratasys ( SSYS) and ExOne ( XONE) have also seen strong performance in their shares.